Column: Real danger of driverless vehicles - They aren't 'smart'

Self-driving cars are nearer than we think, and here’s how we know: The U.S. government has decided that they are badly in need of federal regulation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun a four-year study to plan guidelines for the regulation of cars that drive themselves — or, as the bureaucrats describe them, “autonomous vehicles.”

Using a combination of radars, lasers, cameras, computers and GPS systems, these cars can drive to their destinations and park themselves, without the interference of humans.

And there’s one of the questions the feds are wrestling with: Should a human even be required aboard the car, and, if so, should he be required to sit in the driver’s seat? The feds think so, and go even further, recommending that there be a special driver’s license to

“operate” — meaning, sit in the front seat in a driverless vehicle.

This story appears in the print edition of Daily Journal. Subscribers can read the entire story online by signing in here or in our e-Edition by clicking here.